


Child Of The Manor

by AuroraKant



Series: Children of Wayne Manor [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: (Non Graphic), Abortion, Alpha Koriand'r, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, And He Will Fight You To Get One, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, Bruce Wayne's A+ Parenting, Dick Grayson Wants An Abortion, F/M, Gen, No Smut, Omega Dick Grayson, Pack Dynamics, The Author Is Projecting Hardcore In This One, Unplanned Pregnancy, Unwanted Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:56:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28435746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraKant/pseuds/AuroraKant
Summary: He had been feeling off for a few days now, his stomach grumbling when he went to bed, his energy low when he prepared for a mission. Which had been weird enough for Dick to notice – he was twenty-three and in perfect health. He shouldn’t get tired during standard retcon, and he shouldn’t want to throw up after smelling Donna’s coffee mixture.It had been Kory who bought him the pregnancy test.Or: Dick Grayson wanted an abortion - and he was not going to let anyone stop him.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson/Koriand'r
Series: Children of Wayne Manor [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091762
Comments: 42
Kudos: 157





	Child Of The Manor

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome and hello to... this!  
> Not many are probably gonna read this:  
> But this is a vent fic coming from a very personal place. Most of my own feelings regarding pregnancies and abortions are wrapped in this mess of a fic (written and edited in one day) and since my queer heart bleeds for Dick Grayson, he was my victim for this exercise in projecting!  
> Maybe someone else can relate as well, or knows a few other fics that explore the more ugly sides of pregnancies... because I need a balance to all those happy pregnancy fics out there 😂
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! <3

Dick stared at his reflection in the mirror.

He looked normal. His skin was flushed, his hair styled, his Nightwing suit fit, and his stomach was sculpted and flat. Not for much longer. Not if he could belief the pregnancy test clutched in his hand.

He had been feeling off for a few days now, his stomach grumbling when he went to bed, his energy low when he prepared for a mission. Which had been weird enough for Dick to notice – he was twenty-three and in perfect health. He shouldn’t get tired during standard retcon, and he shouldn’t want to throw up after smelling Donna’s coffee mixture.

It had been Kory who bought him the pregnancy test.

As his alpha she was more attuned to his smell than even Dick himself was. She had noticed something wrong with his pheromones and since she was an absolute queen, she had immediately brought it to his attention.

So… now here he was.

Pregnant.

At twenty-three.

Apparently, he was almost three months into the pregnancy, if he could believe the damned test. He wasn’t showing yet, his stomach as flat and toned as ever… but in a few weeks his body would tell a different story. He would develop breasts. He would grow a belly. He would get slower and fatter and heavier and…

_No._

Dick had to stop thinking like this.

There was life growing inside of him. Life created by Kory and him. Life created out of love.

He took a deep breath, focusing on his face, and tried to imagine what the child would look like. The pup. _His pup_.

They would grow up tall, a combination of the Grayson built and the Tamarean height. Maybe they would have Dick’s blue eyes… or Kory’s glowing green. Dark hair, Dick was sure they would have his hair. But probably Kory’s nose – her nose was way prettier than his.

That baby would be the most beautiful being on earth – how could it be anything else with Kory as their mom. With Dick as their dad.

Dick almost wasn’t fast enough when he stumbled to the toilet, dry heaving and utterly nauseous. Something told him that the nausea wasn’t just a bout of morning sickness – it was his heart squeezing in pain, his soul screaming in distress.

It didn’t matter how much energy Dick spent into forcing himself to love that lump of cells growing in his stomach, he knew the truth. Dick Grayson didn’t want to be pregnant.

He had never wanted it.

He was twenty-three, at the height of his career, and all he could think about was that… a child would ruin everything. He would have to stop being Nightwing, he would have to step down from his position as the leader of the Titans, he would have to nurse and care and… give himself up.

Dick had spent such a large amount of time creating the person he was now, the idea of being forced to give it up, made him sick to his stomach. Made him freeze and boil and wither away.

Some omegas were never meant to be parents. Maybe Dick was simply one of them.

(even if the world told him that he was broken)

God, in only a few weeks’ time he would feel movement in his stomach. Back when he’d been small, still only a pup, Dick had had a weird fascination with pregnancy books. He read them front to cover, devouring the information inside.

Now he hated himself for all the information running through his head.

Long before anyone else would be able to feel the little kicks and hits, Dick would be able to vividly feel the movements of the growing child.

Another wave of nausea hit him at that thought, bile coating the inside of his mouth.

The idea… the reality of another human being growing inside of him was so… _unsettling_ , Dick felt utterly wrong. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t a dad. He wasn’t a person capable or bearing a child. Or caring for one.

Hell, it was hard enough to care for the Titans, half of them acting like troubled children most of the time.

Dick’s hands were full. He had a job. Two jobs, actually, when you counted the twelve hours a week he acted as a gym teacher downtown. He was busy. He was happy.

He wasn’t ready to give it all up. Maybe he would never be ready to give it all up.

He should tell Kory. As his alpha she had every right to know about the results of the test she had given him. He should call Roy… the man had been pregnant only three years ago, recently rejoining the Titans if only as a backup fighter.

Roy would be able to give him tips. The older omega would be able to help him through the pregnancy and once his child was born, Lian would be a great big sister/cousin. Only…

Dick was lying to himself, wasn’t he?

Not even the happy images he conjured up in his mind, could convince him that he wanted the pup growing in his stomach.

But what reason did he have to dislike the child growing inside of him?

He was healthy, financially secure, he had a great mate, and an even better pack. The child had been conceived in a heat between mates, and Dick had given his explicit consent when Kory had dragged him towards their shared bed, begging her to make him scream.

He hadn’t been raped, coerced, drugged, or assaulted.

And yet… and yet…

Dick couldn’t even think it. It was the truth. It was his wish – but just thinking it, hurt like a bitch. It felt like a betrayal to not want a pup, when so many beta’s cried because they couldn’t get pregnant at all. When other omegas had trouble conceiving – or when alphas mourned the fact, they couldn’t have a child they could biologically carry.

And yet…

And yet Dick wanted to abort the pup growing inside of him.

He wanted to get rid of it.

His knuckles clutching the toilet seat were turning white. If he were a meta, the porcelain would have cracked already. As it were, he only hurt himself, his fingers aching fiercely.

 _Fuck_.

Before Dick could wonder what would happen next, a knock echoed through the room. It was Kory on the other side of the bathroom door, Dick could smell her soothing alpha scent even from a couple feet away. It must have been his own smell that had alerted Kory at all… now that Dick focused on something besides the horror clawing at his heart, he could smell his own sour and afraid omega odor.

God, Kory must be out of her mind, with him smelling like this.

“Richard? Darling? Can I come in?”

Did he want her to come?

If Kory entered the bathroom, Dick would have to tell her what was going on. He probably wouldn’t even have to tell her… the pregnancy test was still laying on the floor, his own pheromones declaring his pregnancy to the world.

And then what?

If she wanted to keep the baby, Dick would have to keep it. Abortions were only allowed in the fewest of cases… and the alpha always had to agree. Often not only the mated alpha of the omega seeking the procedure, but the pack alpha as well.

 _Fuck_.

Dick was screwed.

But he also wasn’t a coward. It was better to get it over with now, before Kory went and got Donna to kick down the door. Sometimes it was hard to live in a tower with three overeager alphas, but Dick made do.

“You can… you can come in, Kory.”

She was cautious when she opened the door, her hair only glowing faintly. It always surprised Dick to see how gentle she could be. Just looking at her height and her built made it hard to believe that Kory was one of the nicest people Dick had ever met. It had been her ferociousness on the battlefield that made him swoon – and it had been her honesty that had made him fall in love.

She smelled something wrong immediately, but instead of demanding an answer, she simply knelt down next to him, offering herself as a means of comfort.

Dick took it.

He hugged her tight, burying his nose in her neck, breathing in the soothing smell of her. His alpha. For a couple of minutes, they stayed like that, Dick lost in the reassurance only Kory could offer him, her body strong underneath his painful grasp.

And then…

“I’m pregnant.”

“So, my nose did not lie to me.”

“No… no, it didn’t.”

He couldn’t see her face from his current position, but he knew her well enough to know that she was frowning. She rubbed his back, but her thoughts were elsewhere, lost before they finally returned and asked:

“And… you are not happy, because…?”

“Because I- Because I don’t want it.”

It was the truth. It was the truth and he had finally said it out loud.

“What do you mean? Is it not mine? Has something happened? Richard?”

There was no anger in her voice – only concern. Only care. Only confusion.

Dick untangled himself. He had to look her in the eyes for this. He owed it to himself not to cower – and he owed it to her and their bond not to lie.

“It is yours. Probably from… from that heat that hit me out of nowhere a few months ago… and… I love you, Kory. I love you so, so much. I just… I don’t want to carry this child to term. I don’t think… I don’t think I would want to carry any pup to term, no matter the alpha who parented it.”

Maybe Dick was broken. Maybe he was a faulty omega and a horrible person. Maybe it was true what the media said, and parenthood was the ultimate goal for any omega and Dick had just damned himself to an unfulfilling life… but did it really matter?

Maybe Dick would never be as happy as all these omegas in the advertisements and in TV… but he also knew he wouldn’t be happy should he let that child inside him grow.

Kory was silent for a long and painful moment, and then she said:

“That is alright, Richard. My knowledge of earth customs might not equal yours… but back on Tamaran it was considered a horrible crime to force an omega to bear a child they did not want. I shall not force you either, Richard.”

Dick hadn’t cried when he saw the test, he hadn’t cried when the nausea hit or when his own head told him he was broken… but being faced with Kory, his alpha, who simply understood him… Dick could not have chosen a better mate, his heart could not have fallen for a better person.

His cheeks were wet with tears, and her green eyes were glittering as well. When he kissed her, her lips tasted of salt. And yet he did it again… it was his thank you. It was his gratitude. It was his immeasurable relief.

Life could never be that easy.

Yes, Kory backed him up, her flaming hair a shield against the cruel world, but that didn’t mean Dick could simply book an appointment and get it over with. No, that would be easy and nice and shame free. Instead, other hurdles greeted them, when Kory and he decided to look into the matter.

Bruce had to agree.

Dick needed the official signature of his pack alpha, since Kory was not an official citizen of earth and her status as Dick’s mate wouldn’t hold up in court. Which meant Dick had to go to the next best thing: his father.

And some part of Dick wanted to believe that it would be no problem at all, that Bruce would look at him, solemnly nod, and give him that cursed piece of paper… but most of the world didn’t work the way Titans Tower worked.

With the Titans everyone was equal, designation or gender barely of interest at all. Dick had been elected leader, Donna their co-captain for almost as long. They were a pack – but not a legal one, and their dynamic didn’t really reflect what the state wanted a traditional pack to be. Dick fought hands on, Roy being more of a distance fighter himself, Kory and Donna were both powerhouses, but so was Garth, the only male beta of the bunch. Wally, an alpha and probably the least dominant person Dick knew, liked to kick and run – and Dick loved all of them.

He loved that he was always just Dick to them – or Nightwing, their fearless leader.

Robin had been something else. Just as fearless, just as strong… But Dick had always fit differently in the dynamic of Wayne Manor, his original pack.

(the circus was a faint memory, their dynamic different – Dick couldn’t remember the way his parents smelled)

While Bruce was neither a purist nor a traditionalist… he was Gotham Upper Crust and he was an upstanding alpha male. Bruce supported equal rights movements, and he donated to omega charities helping those in need, but Dick had always had the suspicion that his end as Robin hadn’t been completely divorced from the fact that he was an omega. That he could bear children.

Bruce meant well, and that was exactly what Dick feared would come to bite him in the ass.

Because Bruce wanted to protect Dick, and it didn’t matter that Dick didn’t want to be protected. It didn’t matter that Dick was an adult, and mated, and a hero with more experience than half the Justice League combined. He was also Bruce’s omega son. The pack omega. The sweet and upstanding child.

Well, if Dick wanted to get rid of that pup growing inside of him… he would have to burst Bruce’s bubble.

There were less legal ways to get an abortion, of course, but if Dick wanted to stay safe, he would have to go down the official route. And, in all honesty, Dick just didn’t like the idea of going behind his pack alpha’s back.

Luckily – or unluckily – Dick didn’t have to wait long for his chance to talk to Bruce.

The week after Dick found out about his pregnancy – and he hadn’t slept sound ever since then – the bi-monthly family dinner at Wayne Manor took place. If it were up to Dick, he would have chosen a less public occasion to talk to Bruce, but it would be suspicious should Dick suddenly show up at the Manor on his own.

Nightwing, for once, didn’t stumble over Batman during a mission either, so it would really have to be the pack dinner.

Dick was not looking forward to it.

The days leading up to what felt more and more like an execution had been… _hard_. But also, kind of great. Because while Dick started to feel extremely alienated from his body (at some point no longer even capable of looking into the mirror out of fear to see his reflection changed) the Titans were great.

Donna had hugged him tight when he told her, and Garth had told him of great ceremonies in Atlantis that were held to honor and help those that decided not to birth their child. They had cuddled with him and held him when he cried – and then they had gone and kicked some ass.

Wally had joked, as if nothing was wrong, and Kory almost had a heart attack when she saw Dick fall from a chair because he was laughing so hard.

In the end it had been Roy, however, who’d really helped him.

The older omega had arrived two days after Dick had told everyone, Lian safely with her babysitter far away. Dick had seen Roy and he’d known – Roy meant business.

The talk the two of them shared, had been one of the most important conversations Dick had ever had. Because Roy had looked at him and said:

“I get it. When I got pregnant after sleeping with Jade… I was devastated. I thought about getting an abortion. I really did. But I would have had to go through backchannels – Chesh isn’t my mate after all, and Dinah wasn’t yet my pack again… I also thought about other things, more permanent ways to rid the world of me. But in the end, I chose not to… because I wanted to give that pup a chance. And… looking at you now, I know that you made the choice you can live with. The choice that allows you to remain on this earth. And fuck it, I’m happy for that.”

They had hugged after that, both of them crying, and it hadn’t been long before the rest of the Titans found them. They had spent the night together, cuddling on the big couch in the common room, like they had done when they’d been teenagers.

But Dick couldn’t run away from this conversation forever, and the day of the family dinner came. He had Kory by his side, for which he was grateful, but no one else was really in his corner. Probably because Dick had told no one outside of the Titans about his little problem.

Neither Alfred nor Bruce nor Tim nor Cass knew beforehand what he was about to tell them.

_This could only end well._

The nausea bubbling in his stomach was a constant reminder that he had to get that abortion soon, morning sickness haunting him for the past few days. Dick was so sick of being sick. He was so sick of hating the body he usually loved.

Kory was a stoic presence by his side, her smell covering him like a warm blanket, when they finally arrived at the front door. Usually Nightwing came the night before, entering through the Cave, before he stepped foot into the Manor, but this time around, Dick had been unable to bear the thought of sleeping at the Manor with a secret so grand.

He knocked on the wooden door.

It didn’t take long for Alfred to open the front door, the familiar smell of _home, pack, family_ washing over Dick. He had missed them – they were his family after all. Some days it was just harder to go home than others.

“Master Richard! Miss Koriand’r! It is nice to see you – please step inside, dinner should be served in half an hour.”

Usually Dick would offer a quick hug, Alfred declining, and then the two of them would step inside. This time, Dick simply smiled, afraid Alfred could smell the pregnancy on him. Kory had told him that his smell was growing stronger, and even Wally had stopped once, when suddenly the Titans Tower Kitchen had been filled with the odor of pregnant omega.

(Dick had cried that night, horribly so, and Kory had held him, even as he threw up)

If Alfred noticed something off, the old alpha didn’t say so, as he let Kory and Dick step inside.

The Manor almost smelled like home, the memory of his very first pack so pale in Dick’s mind, he could no longer recall what his mom and dad had smelled like, or if the circus had had a pack smell of its own. Normally that thought filled him with sadness and grief – today Dick was simply grateful that he didn’t have to explain to his bio parents as well, that he was a broken omega.

Dick found the rest of their pack in the drawing room, Bruce reading the paper, Tim and Cass playing a silent game of chess.

This close to the center of the Manor, Dick felt almost overwhelmed. Centuries of overlaying Wayne pheromones had soaked into the walls of this house, the smell of Dick’s pack alpha so strong, Dick wanted to unearth instincts that had grown useless generations ago.

Submissive omegas were a stereotype of long forgotten days, even if the laws still treated them as lower-class citizens. And yet, standing in the drawing room, looking at Bruce, Dick wanted to bare his throat and have Bruce scent mark him, just so that everyone knew what a good omega Dick had been.

That had to be the pregnancy hormones talking, Dick shaking his head to dislodge the seriously creepy thoughts popping up in his head. He had never felt particularly submissive in Bruce’s presence before even after years of spending every Sunday in this very room – as evident by the legendary fights that had made Dick create his own hero persona and leave the Manor behind.

“Hi Bruce.”

Bruce finally lowered the newspaper, even if he must have heard them enter, and Dick knew that their talk would happen now. With Tim and Cass and Kory in the room. Because Bruce’s eyes said it all: The man knew.

Either he had smelled it, or he had taken one look at Dick and seen the signs Dick tried to ignore (his hips were getting fat and Dick would murder someone should they point it out). Maybe Bruce had simply hacked the Titans Health Database in true Batman fashion.

It didn’t matter, did it?

Bruce knew.

Dick took a deep breath, squeezing Kory’s hand tightly:

“What? No grand ‘welcome home’?”

For a moment Dick thought Bruce would answer with a grunt, all the grumpy head of the house, but then something else happened. Something that was almost worse. Bruce smiled. The tension between his brows eased, and Bruce Wayne stood up, all proud and regal:

“Sorry, you are right, of course. I am happy to see you, Dick. And Koriand’r. It is always an honor to see you. Tim! Cass! Your brother is here – no more chess, and a lot more family time.”

Both of Dick’s younger siblings snapped to attention. Their eyes widened when they saw him and Kory, but Dick wasn’t surprised. When Tim played a strategy game all of his focus was intently directed at the game – the world stopped existing around him. Cass on the other hand, sometimes – when she felt happy and secure and safe – just stopped paying attention.

A Cass that didn’t notice you was a Cass who enjoyed herself.

Tim had crossed the room, before Kory could finish greeting Bruce, his thin body slamming into Dick. It felt wrong to not fully hug Tim back, but Dick kept his distance, only allowing a short squeeze, before he sidestepped to greet Cass.

There were people that Dick was comfortable with touching him, and then there was the rest of the world. At least right now.

Dick tried to ignore the look of hurt on Tim’s face. He just couldn’t. Not right now.

Cass mustered him with intelligent eyes, and Dick knew… it wouldn’t be long before even her less sensitive beta nose would decipher the smell emanating from Dick. But she took his offered hand without complaint, her body relaxed. Maybe she wasn’t judging him – maybe she simply understood.

Her life had been a hard one, and Dick wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t the first desperate pregnant omega she met.

Before long all greetings had been said, the five of them sitting next to the forgotten and half-finished chess game, waiting for Alfred to call them to dinner.

It was bad enough at Titans Tower, Dick no longer comfortable in his own skin, but the drawing room made it so much worse. He would jump out of his skin, if he could, the smell of generations of submissive and good omegas mixed with Bruce’s overbearing pack alpha pheromones, making his head all muddled.

He wasn’t this person, had never been it, would never be it, but his soul and body were at war.

One of the pregnancy books Dick had found, back when he had still been able to bear the thought, had detailed how evolutionary it had made sense for omegas to grow more protective of their child during pregnancy, and how that could translate into more submissive behavior and instincts… Dick had thought that was bullshit, but ever since he had entered Wayne Manor his brain was going haywire.

 _He hated it_.

Dick might have never hated anything more as this loss of control – it was bad enough as it was, with his body growing alien and his future escaping him… but now his mind was playing tricks on him as well.

The sooner this was over, the better.

He wanted Kory’s smell and Kory’s comfort.

He wanted her body and her hugs and her companionship.

(he wanted the feeling of agency back that had once been so inherently Dick Grayson)

But all he could smell was Bruce, both Tim and Cass barely having any smell on their own. They smelled like pack, Cass as a beta simply having little scent of her own, and Tim – unpresented as he was – still scenting like a pup.

He was going crazy, especially since it was obvious Bruce knew, but didn’t say something. The man simply asked after missions and cases, making sure to compliment Dick’s leadership and passion for the cause. Tim and Cass as well, shared information about their lives, school and vigilantism both passionate topics of discussion.

Kory only sometimes offered answers of her own, Dick could feel the tension growing in her as well.

He couldn’t… He had to… Now or never.

He interrupted Tim’s excited blabbering about a science fair at school. He knew he sounded harsh, but he couldn’t care, his eyes fixated on Bruce’s face:

“Do you have a question? If, yes, ask, or stop looking at me like that.”

If Dick were still eighteen and stubborn like a mule, this would have ended in a fight, their tempers clashing, their fists flying. As it was, Bruce simply cocked his head, before he answered:

“Are you pregnant, Dick?”

Tim was the only one surprised, a small gasp escaping him.

Cass shrunk into herself, shoulders rising to her ears, and Kory straightened, ready for a battle fought with words. Dick didn’t react at all, he simply blinked, breathed, and said:

“Yes. And I want an abortion.”

Silence.

Tension was building, Dick could feel it, his stare made out of steel, his heart ready to break.

“No.”

Something inside Dick shattered.

His voice was a broken husk of his normal deep baritone, his eyes still searching Bruce’s face for an answer:

“Why not?”

The question seemed to rattle Bruce, the man wearing a thunderous expression, his smell aggressive and scared at the same time. Both Tim and Cass were hunching in on themselves, and if Dick weren’t currently living through one of the worst experiences of his life, he would be worried for them – and sorry that they were forced to witness this.

The only thing that kept Dick from breaking entirely was Kory’s presence by his side, her hand as warm and solid as ever.

“Because… Dick, have you thought about this? This is your child. Kory’s child. The first pup of this pack.”

It hurt to know that Bruce was using their family against him by reminding Dick of the legacies connected to him birthing a child. He was the pack omega – archaic law dictated that he ensured the continued lineage of their pack. He wasn’t just growing a future Grayson in his stomach, he was also growing a future Wayne – a future Tamarean Royal.

But they weren’t living in ancient times anymore. They were a pack living in the twenty-first century. Dick wasn’t the only one ensuring this family’s future – hell, Bruce himself had built his pack through adoption.

“Oh, I have. And I still want nothing more than to see it gone. I just need your signature, and we never have to talk about it again. Just one Bruce Wayne on a slip of paper and we can all forget about this.”

Dick wouldn’t forget about this. Never. For one, because it was his child he was aborting, and even if Dick couldn’t wait to see it gone, it still hurt, it still brought him pain. And two… it was his father who was denying Dick something that should be a human right.

“What does Koriand’r have to say about it?”

There was so much righteous indignation in Bruce’s tone, Dick was almost glad he had directed it at Kory. Or in Kory’s direction at least. Because Dick could feel Kory take a deep breath, and he could feel his mate ready herself to defend Dick:

“ _I_ , Mr. Wayne, made the decision according to Tamarean customs. I listened to my mate’s wishes regarding his own body, and I will see it through. If Dick wants an abortion – he will get one.”

There was fire in her voice and Dick fell in love with her all over again.

Something complicated happened on Bruce’s face. Dick wasn’t sure what to think, on the one hand, they needed Bruce’s signature, on the other hand… Dick would love to simply get up and never return. His heart was breaking – and the worst thing was, he didn’t even think Bruce was hurting him on purpose. No, Bruce simply didn’t understand.

“That is- Dick…” Dick had never heard his pack alpha sound so lost. It was a tone rather unbecoming of the great Bruce Wayne, and it left Dick feeling unbalanced. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to offer Bruce?

“What? What do you want me to say, Bruce? My wish should be enough of a reason for you to allow it. Aren’t you backing the Equal Rights Movement as Bruce Wayne? Didn’t you publicly ask for better Sex ED and a more comprehensive law against omega abuse? So, why… Why am I not allowed to get the same decency you apparently offer other omegas? Is it because I am your pack? Your son? Or your fucking perfect trophy omega?”

The words spilled from Dick’s lips like water fell from the Niagara Falls. They were true. They were parts of Dick’s soul. With each question, more of Dick’s angry smell poured into the room, Cass basically vanishing into the armchair she had chosen earlier.

Bruce on the other hand reacted to Dick’s anger like he had always reacted to it: With his own.

“This is not true, and you know it! I am simply concerned for you! It is not normal for an omega to not want a child – Excuse me for worrying about my own son for not wanting his own flesh and blood!”

“Don’t you think, I don’t know that?! Don’t you think I don’t know that I am broken? But, Bruce… fuck, I don’t want this child. I maybe never want any pup at all. Why… why can’t I be broken on my own?”

And the tears were back, searing hot shame pouring down Dick’s cheeks. Before he could sob in earnest, a warm pair of arms pulled him into a hug, Kory’s voice soothing and reassuring in his ear:

“You aren’t broken, Richard. You will never be broken. You are my perfect, wonderful mate, who just so happens to not want a child. Nobody can take that away from you – and just because the world tells you to want something else, doesn’t mean you aren’t right in what you want. The world also said no to Robin – and look where you are now: Nightwing, the savior of my dreams.”

Kory was the only one speaking, everyone else shocked into silence after Dick’s broken and explosive confession. He could smell her scent, rich and entirely her, and he knew she was forcing as much of it out into the open as she possibly could in the presence of a pack alpha.

The next voice that broke through the oppressive silence keeping the rest of the room on its toes, was Bruce, pure guilt audible in his voice:

“I… I am sorry, Dick. I am sorry if I made you… If I made you feel as if there is only one way to be an omega. And I am sorry, if I made you feel unsafe… I… just- this is hard for me. And- And I shouldn’t put that on your shoulders, my own believes and fallacies, but I do and I did… I…”

It was… was it even an apology? Dick wasn’t sure. It was something. Something that soothed some of the hurt festering in his chest, but not all of it. Far from it. Dick took a couple of calming breaths, his own outburst already shamefully pressing down on him, when Kory slowly let go of him.

She knew he was no longer crying, just as he knew, that she had been angrily glaring at Bruce the entire time. And the green-eyed stare of an angry Tamarean princess was nothing easy to withstand.

“So… are you gonna give me the signature I need?”

He felt a bit more like himself again, even if the pain was still thrumming through his chest. Dick Grayson didn’t bow easily, and just because the hormones made him cry a little bit faster, didn’t mean he suddenly lost the ability to stare his father in the face.

“I“ – Bruce swallowed visibly, the eyes of every single person in the room following the motion – “I… I just want to ensure you are one hundred percent sure. If… you can’t take it back once you did it. And! I don’t mean that as a… a final answer. I will sign the permission slip. I just… I need to know you are sure.”

In a way that was all he could ask for.

Dick nodded, Kory’s full support by his side.

“Okay. I am sure. I thought about this since I found out. The… the mere thought of being pregnant scares me, Bruce.”

“Maybe your designation is wrong? Maybe you are a beta instead… or an alpha?”

There was desperate hope in Bruce’s eyes, and Dick was once again reminded of the discrimination that had been woven deeply into the system for hundreds of years. Bruce didn’t want to hurt him, Dick reminded himself again. Bruce just didn’t understand.

“No. I am… I like being an omega. I like my body and myself – but not right now. Not like this. And insinuating that that means I have to be something else… that doesn’t just hurt me, or others like me… it hurts those with a wrongfully assigned designation as well.”

Next to him Tim nodded, Cass pushing him, until the pup of the pack finally spoke:

“Yeah, we learned about that in politics. Mrs. Genova said that it is important let different problems be complex – and not to explain one thing with another. I mean, the example she used was about Killer Croc and the Riddler both using the sewers and homeless people needing them as well, because- anyway! I think, Dick is right!”

Tim rarely stood up for himself, so it warmed Dick’s heart to see him stand up for Dick. It probably wasn’t even hero worship that made Tim act out, but a proper believe in what he had just said. Tim had a strong sense of right and wrong – maybe even stronger than the one Jason and Dick had brought to the Robin mantel.

Bruce opposite Dick and Kory looked at his children, at the pride in Tim’s eyes, the support quietly pouring from Cass, the anger radiating from Kory, the silent hurt and strong compassion flowing through Dick… and he sighed, his shoulders falling, exhaustion evident in his entire posture:

“I know… or I should know better. I am… I- You deserve all the support you can get, Dick. It isn’t an easy choice, I am sure…. And it is not my intention to make that choice even harder. If- when you do what you have to do, I want you to know that you are more than welcome here. You will always be welcome in this pack. You are right – you are my son.”

Dick looked at him, at the honesty in his eyes, and the different believes fighting it out inside his mind, and he took the metaphorical hand. There was no need to push it. Bruce was offering an olive branch, and Dick would get what he had come here to get. He was even almost smiling when he said:

“Okay… thank you. Because… I have that damned form with me. You can sign it right now, and we will never have to talk about it again.”

Dick Grayson was going to get an abortion.

And there was no longer anything that could stop him from doing just that.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, Bookmarks and Kudos make me very, very happy!!


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